Introductary classes in West Coast Swing to be offered Jan. 14

Posted: January 5, 2012 - 1:05am

A one-day West Coast Swing Workshop will be offered Saturday. Jan. 14, at the Juneau Arts Culture Center, with guest instructors Liv Froholm and Van Rauch. The workshop, sponsored by Juneau International Folk Dancers, is open to all, regardless of previous dance experience.

West Coast Swing has its roots in Lindy Hop of the 1930s and ‘40s. By the late ‘70s, “California Swing” became more widely known as West Coast Swing. It is a smooth swing dance that uses leverage and compression to give it a unique elastic look.

Froholm and Rauch have been teaching dance in Alaska since 2000. They got their start together in country western dancing and competition.

“West Coast Swing lends itself to improvisation probably more than any other swing dance and can be danced to 4/4 timed music in many genres -- blues, contemporary, jazz, R&B and country western to name a few,” Rauch said in a press release. “What defines West Coast Swing is not static; it is the kind of music and the two people who are dancing it.”

Froholm and Rauch will also teach during a portion of the monthly ballroom event on Jan. 14, also at the JACC. The dance will begin at 7 p.m. Froholm and Rauch will teach between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.